I remember my trainer and mentor Roger saying that your own coaching style always reflects your own personal development path – almost 15 years later, I couldn’t agree more!
Starting point
The real starting point for my own development was my coaching program that startet at the end of 2010. Shortly before that, I had reached a low point in my life. Outwardly very successful as a consultant in a management consultancy, I had panic attacks: Overwork, insomnia, palpitations and the fear of a heart attack were my main symptoms. Today I know that for years – and possibly my whole life – I had ignored my body and my psyche too much and tried to fulfil other people’s demands on me. I just knew that I didn’t want to go on like this!
My way
During the coaching program, I came into contact with humanistic-orientated counselling for the first time, specifically with Gestalt therapy. This focused on the question of human potential development, specifically: “Who am I and can I accept myself as I am?”. What sounds like two simple questions is, in my view, a lifelong process in which it is sometimes not easy to be honest with yourself. Through the coaching program and my own therapy experiences, I have discovered my interest in the physical level of growth processes: How do we deal with stress? What role does our breathing play in our well-being? How can we express emotions appropriately and act in harmony with ourselves and our environment? I subsequently tried out different types of bodywork, including sensory awareness, Reichian breathing, dance therapy and bioenergetics. The latter in particular, alongside Gestalt therapy, has had a strong influence on my work today.
Professional integration
In addition to my personal development, which was closely linked to my educational path, I worked a lot on integrating what I had learnt into my professional work. Without my personal growth, I would definitely not have been able to meet the challenges I faced in the management positions I held over the years in high-performance organizations. In my work today as an executive coach, trainer and consultant, I integrate my experience of humanistic work in companies with my organizational and management knowledge. With both together, I support my clients in (re)discovering their self-efficacy and staying true to themselves as well as acting effectively and successfully towards the outside world.
I have never lost my own desire for further development along the way. The question of a fulfilled life cannot be answered once and for all, but must be asked again and again – and our body was, is and remains our most important guidepost here! In my blog “Food for Body and Mind” I therefore share my experiences with humanistic work in organisations, be it in individual settings such as coaching, in working with teams or in larger transformation processes – I look forward to lively discussion and your own experiences!
With body & mind,
